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Monday, August 11, 2014

A Tasty Day Out ....

Can you tell what we were up to again??Shot taken at YORBA in Sutter Creek Ca...very tasty! A MUST visit!

So as you may have already figured out, hubby and I went wine tasting, again. Once again we visited the Shenandoah Valley wine region , mainly the Plymouth Ca portion of the valley. We are still working our way through the wineries there, one by one, visiting 2-3 each time we make the trip out. BUT before I get to where we visited, let me fill you in on where we had lunch! Always good to pad the belly before going wine tasting. This go around we decided to pop into the Sloughhouse Inn. We had driven by it many times, most times on our way to go wine tasting, site seeing in other areas or to stop at Davis Ranch Produce to pick up some famous sweet corn or fresh fruit. We had always talked about stopping, but never actually did so. The weather was perfect, not too hot, a slight breeze, so it seemed the ideal time to sit on their roomy patio that overlooks a creek and dine on some tasty food. More History.... click HERE.

Located right off of Hwy 16 aka Jackson Road ( actually 12700 Meiss Rd. to be exact) in Sloughhouse CA., sits a beautiful and historic inn. The Inn was originally a stagecoach stop and inn beginning in the 1850's . At some point the inn burnt down and was rebuilt and no longer served as an inn, but simply as a restaurant. It went through a couple of owners, and closed down in 2006, but re-opened in 2013, as a place for weary travelers to once again stop and get a bite to eat, at times listen to live music while sitting on the patio and watching the dragon flies flit about the creek below while sipping on something cold to drink. Even though it is not far from the busy highway, it offers a quiet refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily life, a slice of history, beautiful scenery some mighty tasty food too! I also recommend, if you are into antiques you visit Dixies down the road, just walking distance from the Inn for some real treasures. Also, if you are like me and like historic cemeteries, there is one of those as well, The Pioneer Cemetery just past the antique store and over a bridge. It is only able to be explored if you make an appointment and obtain the key, but you can always peek through the fence. Be sure to follow the link for the history. I am positive that we will be stopping at this gem many times! Especially since there is supposedly homemade pie to be had!

One of two markers on the property, the other was hidden by bushes and I could not take a goodphoto of it.

The view while we ate.

To die for fried pickles!

Hubby recommends the pastrami.

After the pickles I opted for the salad, it was a lovely and fresh mix of varied greens, carrots, Parmesan cheese and juicy tomatoes.

Now on to wine tasting...

Our first stop was out on Shenandoah Road there in Plymouth Ca, a place I have shared with you all many times over the last few years ( be sure to look under the labels portion of the blog and click on the word "wine" ) , and a favorite haunt of ours to be sure. The first winery, Andis. A very modern and large building sitting up top a hill overlooking the other wineries, we had never stopped because it always seemed too big and fancy for our tastes... now wishing we had stopped sooner! The wines, each that was offered to us were all very drinkable and enjoyable. They are a mid dollar price range, so maybe not an every day table wine for many people, but not so over priced that if you did have some with dinner you would not have to feel super guilty, and well life is too short to drink bad wine right?? I feel that there was something for every taste level and would very much recommend it. The servers are knowledgeable, and very friendly. While there you can play some bocce ball too or sit on the patio and watch the clouds pass by in the clear blue sky. We were lucky as this day they were sampling some amazing chocolate truffles too thanks to Toucan Truffles! Tasting fees are 5.00 and are refundable with purchase.

Tasty offerings!

Our next stop, just up the road a piece was Borjon Winery. An interesting diversity of cultures reside here. The family, French and Mexican. The name of the winery is French. The winery really celebrates their Mexican heritage, from the feel of the building and gardens, to the interior, where traditional and highly decorative saddles are displayed and there is even a Tequila museum. However, when I asked the server for the history and in what style they made their wine I was told "Italian". Despite being a bit confused by all the influences, although the history is really interesting, so be sure to click the above link, it is a lovely tasting room. They have really good wine, dare I say great on some level, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and again in the mid dollar price range. There is also a 5.00 tasting fee, refundable for the basic tastings, and 5.00 non refundable for the reserve tastings ( but worth it).

Taking a moment to enjoy the lovely outdoor seating area.

Having decided at the start of the day that we also wanted to drive over to Sutter Creek, that is exactly what we did! We parked in our favorite little parking lot behind the City hall I believe ( where the bathrooms are), and popped into Cinque Wines to pick up a couple bottles of Rare Red. It is a great priced, every day table red wine, produced by the Scotto Family Cellars, one of the wineries featured there at the tasting room. And of course then we also headed back over to Yorba , where they serve Shake Ridge Ranch and Vineyard wines, we love to visit with the super wonderful, friendly and informative server(s) there as well as partake in their wonderful wines... both places are wonderful treats and I can not sing their praises enough!!

While on the way to a new wine tasting room in town, we spotted a new to us, Baiocchi, not the one recommended at Yorba, perhaps cause she thought we had already been to this one, we decided to take a chance, and boy are we glad that we did!! We decided we could always just make a day of it in the future and just wine taste the town again and try the other one that was suggested.

Located set back off Main Street in Sutter Creek, and next to my favorite little garden shop there as well, down a paved path and though a gate sits the back side of a old cottage, now tasting room. As backdoor guests are the best, we made our way through the doors to the tasting room. The wine maker, self proclaimed "Cork Dork", which by the way is what we all call my husband as well, was there to greet us and pour us the day's offerings and talk shop. Greg Baiocchi is a multi- generational wine maker. It having skipped a generation, he shared a brief history of the wine making family line as well as the way he sees wine making and while doing so began to pour some wonderful and award winning wines. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and our tastings with Greg and later his lovely wife Sharon. As we left, Greg shook our hands and told us to come visit with him the next time we were in town. As it happend to be closing time, the sidewalks rolling up in this tiny historic town, Greg walked us out as he collected wine glasses from the patio tables and bid us a safe trip home and that he would see us next time, and he can be sure that he will indeed. Wines are again mid price range and there is a 5.00 refundable tasting fee with purchase.

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About Me

Welcome to my little corner of the cyber world. I am so very glad that you have joined me. You can call me "Ruby" . I am a mother of three lovely adult daughters, wife to an amazing and wonderful husband , and of course blogger.

Ruby's Musings is my way of sharing with not only family members and friends that find it easier to keep up with all the goings ons here at "Muse Cottage" through the blog, but also make connections with others that may stumble upon and decide to stay a bit and "visit" with me.

So I hope you will pull up a chair, grab a cuppa of your favorite tea or coffee and stay a while and be sure to leave me a note and let me know how you enjoyed your stay.